Inspiration TARTAN

Hi Everyone
It's a grey day and so cold but it's 'dryish' and we don't have the quantity of snow everyone else (in the UK) seems to be getting. There are little snow showers but not in any quantity. Still, not an inspiring day weather wise !

However, inspiration this week is to come from 'Tartan'. I know Ive been obsessed with tartan for a few weeks, so technically it's not a new thing for me to be inspired about but I thought it worth a 'fresh' look. I could ramble on for hours about the history of Tartan etc and of course, there are many books on the subject. If you are particularly interested there is a good summary in Wikipedia. My particular take is to do with the colour patterns and the textures I associate with Tartan. I do like this image of Scottish soldiers from around 1600 - it gives an almost 'doll like' link to the Tartan subject.



I also remember wearing red tartan trousers as a child and I often had tartan ribbons in my hair. So, tartans often had a place in my life for a while. My family also has a tartan (from our links with a Scottish clan) - the colours are not quite me but there we are ! Even though, the browns do not especially attract me, the patterns are quite attractive, especially the pattern of the 'weave' - it gives a 'depth'.



I've been working on producing some tartan inspired art recently and last week came up with a brighter range of colours as you can see. This is painted on wood. Again, I like the texture provided by the wood and think it adds to the visual impact of the colour combinations.



I'm quite drawn to the brighter coloured tartans.


You can make your own design by using this tool Go here Ive made several designs which I like.






Not sure which way I prefer the pattern to be.
Perhaps both at the same time ?



My various (current) jewellery projects are also linked to the tartan theme. The silver project and the brooches are both inspired by tartan. I have some new images to share here.














In addition, I've been experimenting with Fimo clay over the weekend and have created little tile designs to add to the wooden painting (the one mentioned above) which I hope to develop further this week. So all in all, Tartan seems to be THE inspiration of the week.
Hope you are inspired too. Look at the colours and patterns and see examples everywhere. It's amazing that everything I turn to has a tartan theme somewhere within. I hope to pick this up and run with tartan ideas all week.

Bye for today.